95: Undercurrent

The next morning, the sky was faintly lit.

Lin Feng had just taken advantage of the pre-dawn hours to investigate the entire Yan Family Fortress again. The situation inside the fortress, compared to yesterday, now included an additional Core Formation Early Stage Cultivator from the Yan Family; other than that, there were no changes.

It was noteworthy that he specifically sensed around and did not find Mo Caihuan and her mother, who should have appeared here according to the original work.

It seemed his actions in Jia Yuan City back then had indeed changed the Mo Estate's fate.

He withdrew his thoughts, his gaze falling to the corner of the room.

Dong Xuan'er was sitting cross-legged there, facing the wall, leaving Lin Feng with only a stubborn back.

She seemed to have noticed Lin Feng's return, her delicate body tensing almost imperceptibly.

Lin Feng found it somewhat amusing; this Young Miss's temper hadn't changed at all.

However, he didn't care much. His Storage Pouch still contained those thirty-five recording orbs, which clearly documented how this Young Miss was hung up and spanked until she cried last night.

He figured she wouldn't dare cause trouble again.

His thoughts shifted, and the smile quickly faded from his face, replaced by a look of solemnity.

Tomorrow was the Guiling Sect's blood sacrifice day, and Yunlu Old Demon would also be there. For him to safely escape with Dong Xuan'er under the nose of a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator would be extremely difficult.

He even considered whether he should just leave her behind.

After all, Yunlu Old Demon was her biological father; he wouldn't possibly harm her.

But this thought merely flashed through his mind before he extinguished it.

Through their interactions these past few days, he found that Dong Xuan'er's nature wasn't inherently bad; she was just spoiled, arrogant, tyrannical, and acted without considering the consequences.

Lin Feng pondered what would happen if he could guide this 'Demonic Path Xuan Flower' from the original work back to the Righteous Path.

Soon, he made a decision. With a thought, he rummaged through the System's storage space and found a stack of Talismans.

Lin Feng walked to the corner, squatted beside Dong Xuan'er, and gently placed the stack of Talismans beside her cross-legged legs.

His fingertips, inevitably, lightly brushed against her thigh through her thin skirt.

This made Dong Xuan'er, who had been stiffly pretending to be in meditation, feel as if she had been electrocuted!

She suddenly opened her eyes, recoiled backward, and turned her head. Her delicate face was full of wariness and shame.

"Lin Feng! You... what do you want now?!"

Her voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.

Lin Feng, however, ignored her bristling. He simply raised his head and looked at her with sincere eyes.

"Junior Sister, what Senior Brother did last night was a bit much."

His voice was deep and earnest.

"However, Senior Brother still has to say, this is also for your own good, Junior Sister. The outside world is not like Huangfeng Valley. Your identity and appearance here are not only not protective charms but rather deadly poisons. No one will care whose Disciple you are. If you lose your life because of this, Senior Brother will feel it is his fault!"

Dong Xuan'er was slightly startled by his words, and the anger in her eyes subsided a little.

Lin Feng pointed to the stack of Talismans beside her leg and continued, "These Talismans can be considered Senior Brother's apology. There's a high probability that something will happen at tomorrow's treasure- Grab the meeting. If the situation is critical and you can't find me, use these Talismans to escape the Yan Family Fortress; don't worry about me."

After speaking, he stood up, said no more, turned, and walked out of the inn room.

The door was gently closed.

Inside the room, only Dong Xuan'er remained, sitting in a daze.

She lowered her head, looking at the stack of Talismans beside her, her mind constantly replaying Lin Feng's words and his figure saving her last night.

An inexplicable emotion spread in her heart.

When she was saved yesterday, she was actually grateful. But her personality prevented her from saying thank you.

And then, Lin Feng actually hung her up and spanked her...

As soon as she thought of that shameful scene, Dong Xuan'er's cheeks instantly flushed.

"This perverted Senior Brother!"

She cursed in a low, indignant voice, but finally couldn't resist reaching out and picking up the stack of Talismans.

She was stunned after just one glance.

"These... these are all Mid-tier Talismans!"

Her slender fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through them one by one. There were Flying Escape Talismans, Qi Concealment Talismans, Invisibility Talismans, Barrier-breaking Talismans... each one shimmered with spiritual light and exuded an extraordinary aura.

Dong Xuan'er was completely shocked.

In her impression, Lin Feng was just a pauper who barely managed Foundation Establishment through luck and usually holed up in his Immortal Cave cultivating diligently.

But he... he was actually so generous, taking out so many Mid-tier Talismans!

This was almost equivalent to the entire fortune of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

"Could it be... could he be sincerely apologizing to me, emptying his family's savings to give me these Talismans?"

"Or... or... does he actually... secretly like me?"

The more Dong Xuan'er thought about it, the more she felt this was possible.

She couldn't help but fantasize: He must have fallen for me a long time ago, but he's not good with words. Yesterday, seeing me in danger, he acted without hesitation. And later, hitting me... that must be 'love so deep, correction so strict'! He must hate that I don't know how to protect myself!

Now he's even offering his entire fortune, just to beg for my forgiveness...

"Hmph, wanting to pursue this Young Miss, he does have some sincerity..."

In Dong Xuan'er's mind, Lin Feng's somewhat overbearing face from last night, when he was spanking that part of her, flashed again.

Her cheeks flushed once more.

This Young Miss of Huangfeng Valley was now completely immersed in her own imagination, oblivious to everything around her.

She naturally wouldn't know that the real reason Lin Feng gave her so many Mid-tier Talismans was actually very simple—he had left all the Low-tier Talismans he had for Han Yunzhi and Xin Ruyin in the Immortal Cave for self-defense.

What he had most of in his Storage Pouch now were these Mid-tier Talismans, which were not very useful to him.

...

Night fell.

Lin Feng returned to the inn room, sat down cross-legged, and began to close his eyes and adjust his breathing, making his final preparations for tomorrow.

Then Lin Feng suddenly felt that the gaze from the corner was secretly falling on him from time to time.

Lin Feng felt somewhat strange.

This girl... surely she wasn't beaten silly by him, was she?

...

The night passed without a word.

On the third day of arriving at Yan Family Fortress, the sky was fully bright.

The Yan Family Fortress's "Treasure- Grab the meeting" arrived as scheduled.

On the huge plaza at the top of the mountain, it was already bustling with people. Cultivators from various parts of Yue State, dressed in different colored clothes, gathered here in groups of three or five.

Lin Feng and Dong Xuan'er walked side by side through the crowd.

Today, Dong Xuan'er was unusually quiet, just following Lin Feng with her head down, occasionally glancing up at him, then quickly looking down again, a blush rising on her cheeks.

Lin Feng's gaze swept across the entire scene, his expression calm, but his mind was rapidly calculating.

He didn't choose to secretly hide outside the Formation on the periphery of the plaza like Han Li in the original work.

Because he knew that this time, within the Yan Family Fortress, there was not only Wang Chan and the Yan Family members, but also a genuine Nascent Soul Middle Stage Old Devil presiding.

And hiding outside the Formation before the blood sacrifice Formation was activated would be tantamount to seeking death.

He had to find another way to escape.

...

At the same time.

A thousand miles away in Huangfeng Valley, within a heavily guarded underground secret chamber.

Hongfu Immortal was anxiously pacing back and forth, her beautiful face filled with worry.

Inside the secret chamber, all eight other Core Formation Cultivators of Huangfeng Valley were present.

Sitting at the head was an old man with a smooth face and slightly closed eyes. He was the only stabilizing force in Huangfeng Valley, the Nascent Soul Middle Stage Grand Elder—Old Ghost Linghu.

"Grand Elder! Please allow this Disciple to go to Yan Family Fortress and bring Xuan'er and the others back!"

Hong Fu finally couldn't hold back and pleaded with the old man.

The old man's tightly closed eyes slowly opened a slit, his voice calm and unruffled, yet carrying an air of authority.

"Hong Fu, I know Xuan'er is your daughter, and you are anxious."

"But this time, the Demonic Path has come prepared, and the Yan Family has clearly already defected. For you to go now would be tantamount to walking into a trap."

"The Yan Family Fortress now, I'm afraid... has more than one Nascent Soul Cultivator within it."

Upon hearing this, Hong Fu's delicate body trembled, and her face turned pale.

She knew that the Grand Elder's words were true. But thinking of her only daughter being in a Dragon's Den, her heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.